Daughters of God

Regardless of age or circumstance, women of the Church are all daughters of God, with qualities and roles unique to them. Learn what Apostles have said to women today.

Faith in the Priesthood

Elder Ballard describes the scene in a video called “The Example of a Righteous Woman,” an excerpt from the Strengthening the Family through the Priesthood worldwide leadership training videos:

“One special scene was filmed in the very small pioneer home of my mother’s great-grandmother Mary Fielding Smith. She was the widow of Hyrum, the Prophet Joseph’s older brother. As a single parent, through her strong faith in the priesthood, she called upon and relied on that power to raise and bless her children in love and the light of the gospel. Today her posterity of thousands of faithful leaders and members of the Church thank her for her faith, courage, and example” (“This Is My Work and Glory,” Ensign and Liahona, April 2013).

Great Potential, Virtuous Lives

“In whatever life circumstance you find yourself—as a wife, as a mother, as a single mother, as a divorced woman, as a widowed or a single woman—the Lord our God will open up responsibilities and blessings far beyond your ability to imagine.

“May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. But don’t reach beyond your capacity. Don’t set goals beyond your capacity to achieve. Don’t feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don’t compare yourself with others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones. The virtue of your own life will be a light to those who sit in darkness, because you are a living witness of the fulness of the gospel (see D&C 45:28). Wherever you have been planted on this beautiful but often troubled earth of ours, you can be the one to ‘succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees’ (D&C 81:5).” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Influence of Righteous Women,” Ensign or Liahona, Sept. 2009).

Abiding Trust and Unfailing Devotion

“First of all, I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny (see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”). That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage, you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight. … Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator. …